Robert Heller, M.D., has joined Albany Med’s Department of Neurosurgery and has been named assistant professor of neurosurgery at Albany Medical College. He specializes in the surgical treatment of pituitary tumors, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas and gliomas. He is also skilled in stereotactic radiosurgery, a precisely targeted form of radiation therapy to treat tumors.
As a cranial and skull base surgeon, Dr. Heller will work with a team comprised of neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, and ear, nose and throat surgeons who make up Albany Med’s Pituitary and Minimally Invasive Cranial Base Surgery Program.
Dr. Heller completed a complex cranial and skull base neurosurgery fellowship at Tampa General Hospital and University of South Florida in Tampa. He completed his residency training at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where he also received his medical degree. His research interests include clinical outcomes in minimally invasive approaches to skull base surgery, and he has authored or co-authored nearly two dozen journal articles and book chapters. His professional society memberships include the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the North American Skull Base Society.
He resides in Delmar.
Dr. Heller is seeing patients at Albany Med’s Department of Neurosurgery at 43 New Scotland Ave. To schedule an appointment or for more information, call the Department of Neurosurgery at (518) 262-5088.
Ohio State Pituitary Patient Symposium – SCHOLARSHIPS
**The PNA has secured additional funding that has allowed us to offer a limited number of scholarships to pay for the cost of the symposium only.
ACT FAST AND REGISTER TO SECURE YOUR SPOT TODAY! **
Keynote Speaker: Maria Fleseriu, MD FACE
Registration Cost: Individual $40 Save $20 and register for 2: $60
*This registration is for the Patient Symposium only. The Ohio State University is offering a CME Course separate from our Symposium. For information on the CME course go to ccme.osu.edu
OSU Pituitary Symposium Agenda
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Patients and Family’s Track
Gabbe Conference Room – James L045
8:00 AM
Registration and Breakfast
8:20 AM
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions: The OSU Skull Base and Pituitary Team
Lawrence Kirschner, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
8:30 AM
Hypopituitarism: Pitfalls and Recommendations
Maria Fleseriu, MD, FACE
Oregon Health and Science University
9:00 AM
Trans-sphenoidal Approach: What to Expect? Post-Operative Complications
Richard Carrau, MD
OSUCCC – James
9:30 AM
Acromegaly: Why it Takes That Long to Diagnose? What are the Options?
Lawrence Kirschner, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
10:00 AM
Round Table Q & A
10:15 AM
Mid-Morning Break
10:30 AM
Growth Hormone Deficiency: Journey to Adulthood
Robert Hoffman
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
11:00 AM
Radiation Therapy? Difference Between Modalities and Possible Risks
Dukagjin M Blakaj, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
11:30 AM
Round Table Q & A
11:45 AM
Lunch Break and Patient’s Journey
12:45 AM
Surgical Approach: What to Expect
Daniel Prevedello, MD
Douglas Hardesty, MD
OSUCCC – James
1:15 PM
Visual Complications of Pituitary/Sellar Lesion? Predictors of Outcome
Abbe Craven, MD
OSUCCC – James
1:45 PM
Round Table Q & A
2:00 PM
Pituitary Trivia
Luma Ghalib, MD
Brian Lee
OSUCCC – James
2:30 PM
Pituitary Dysfunction: Effect on Mental Health and Family
William Malarkey, MD
OSUCCC – James
3:00 PM
Recovering from Trans-sphenoidal Surgery, Challenges for the Patient and their Families
Traci Douglass, RN
OSUCCC – James
3:30 PM
Pituitary Network Association: Cushing’s Disease: Psychological Research and Clinical Implications
*This registration is for the Patient Symposium only. The Ohio State University is offering a CME Course separate from our Symposium. For information on the CME course go to ccme.osu.edu
OSU Pituitary Symposium Agenda
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Patients and Family’s Track
Gabbe Conference Room – James L045
8:00 AM
Registration and Breakfast
8:20 AM
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions: The OSU Skull Base and Pituitary Team
Lawrence Kirschner, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
8:30 AM
Hypopituitarism: Pitfalls and Recommendations
Maria Fleseriu, MD, FACE
Oregon Health and Science University
9:00 AM
Trans-sphenoidal Approach: What to Expect? Post-Operative Complications
Richard Carrau, MD
OSUCCC – James
9:30 AM
Acromegaly: Why it Takes That Long to Diagnose? What are the Options?
Lawrence Kirschner, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
10:00 AM
Round Table Q & A
10:15 AM
Mid-Morning Break
10:30 AM
Growth Hormone Deficiency: Journey to Adulthood
Robert Hoffman
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
11:00 AM
Radiation Therapy? Difference Between Modalities and Possible Risks
Dukagjin M Blakaj, MD, PhD
OSUCCC – James
11:30 AM
Round Table Q & A
11:45 AM
Lunch Break and Patient’s Journey
12:45 AM
Surgical Approach: What to Expect
Daniel Prevedello, MD
Douglas Hardesty, MD
OSUCCC – James
1:15 PM
Visual Complications of Pituitary/Sellar Lesion? Predictors of Outcome
Abbe Craven, MD
OSUCCC – James
1:45 PM
Round Table Q & A
2:00 PM
Pituitary Trivia
Luma Ghalib, MD
Brian Lee
OSUCCC – James
2:30 PM
Pituitary Dysfunction: Effect on Mental Health and Family
William Malarkey, MD
OSUCCC – James
3:00 PM
Recovering from Trans-sphenoidal Surgery, Challenges for the Patient and their Families
Traci Douglass, RN
OSUCCC – James
3:30 PM
Pituitary Network Association: Cushing’s Disease: Psychological Research and Clinical Implications
Myth: “It is MY fault that I got Cushing’s. I did something wrong that caused me to be sick! If I would have just done XYZ, this would not be happening to me!”
Fact: This is a very controversial topic because we don’t like to talk about it. However, many people struggle with this myth. We NEED to dispel this myth my friends! Patients themselves assume responsibility, accountability, and self blame for becoming ill.
To compound all of that, patients are often told by loved ones, family, and sometimes even their churches or other supports that there is something that THEY could be doing or haven’t done that has caused their declining health. “If you would just follow that raw food diet, then all of your symptoms would go away”, “Juicing is the answer! I told you to juice and you wouldn’t get those tumors!”, Sometimes, you are told that if you would just pray harder or have greater faith, then there is no way that you would be sick right now. And my absolute favorite, “you are just too obsessed with being sick and having Cushing’s! Stop thinking that you have it and it will go away!”.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I find value in “positive thinking” and affirming health, wealth, and all kinds of great things. This helps build up strength and personally keeps me motivated, especially during the times that I feel like absolutely throwing in the towel and giving up!
However, I am NOT the reason and YOU are not the reason for this war with this dreadful disease. What many people don’t understand is how tenacious, brave, courageous, and INDOMITABLE you are! Cushing’s patients do not just get surgery and then everything is magically OK.
Many patients have to go through multiple surgeries, sometimes radiation, sometimes years of testing to find the ultimate source of the disease, even after having several organs messed with. Even after patients obtain their “cure”, they are faced with residual and lingering negative effects of the illness, other hormone dysregulation issues, and the anxiety and fear of a recurrence which is based in absolute reality.
There are people, like myself, who are in remission from Cushing’s, BUT we now have Addison’s Disease/Adrenal Insufficiency as a result of removing vital organs in order to save our lives from Cushing’s. So, are we to think that Adrenal Insufficiency is ALSO our faults every time we near death after an adrenal crisis?! NO! NO! NO!
This is NOT your fault! This is NOT your doing! STOP blaming yourself! The best you can do is to FIGHT! Take an empowered stance by saying “NO” to those who won’t listen. Say “NO” to those who project blame onto you and tell you that this is just a “fat person’s excuse to stay fat”. You are not just a “fat person”! YOU are an amazing person who is fighting for your life!
Let me be clear that this blaming is common and we all do it. In my “5 stages of Loss” series on Youtube; I address the “Bargaining” stage of loss, in which we assume responsibility for getting sick or even for getting better.
Everyone should watch this to understand why and how we do this:
Remember, you are a survivor! YOU are Indomitable!!! This is NOT your fault! You WILL overcome!
Hypopituitarism therapy and growth hormone deficiency
Speakers:
Olivia Chu, NP, Nurse Practitioner
Robert Dodd, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
Juan Fernandez-Miranda, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery
Andrew Hoffman, MD, Professor of Medicine
Peter Hwang, MD, Professor of Otolaryngology
Laurence Katznelson, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery and Medicine
Erin Wolff, NP, Nurse Practitioner
Course Directors:
Juan C. Fernandez-Miranda, MD, FACS
Professor of Neurosurgery, and by Courtesy, of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
Co-Director, Stanford Skull Base Surgery Program
Laurence Katznelson, MD Professor of Neurosurgery and of Medicine (Endocrinology)
Medical Director, Pituitary Center
Irina Bancos, M.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Jamie J. Van Gompel, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic’s campus in Minnesota, discuss Mayo’s multidisciplinary approach to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary tumors. Pituitary tumors are common and often don’t cause problems. But some pituitary tumors produce the hormone ACTH, which stimulates the production of another hormone (cortisol). Overproduction of cortisol can result in Cushing syndrome, with signs and symptoms such as weight gain, skin changes and fatigue. Cushing syndrome is rare but can cause significant long-term health problems.
Treatment for Cushing syndrome caused by a pituitary tumor generally involves surgery to remove the tumor. Radiation therapy and occasionally adrenal surgery may be needed to treat Cushing syndrome caused by ACTH-secreting pituitary tumors. Mayo Clinic has experience with this rare condition.
10th Annual Johns Hopkins Pituitary Patient Day
Saturday, October 13, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location:
Johns Hopkins Mt. Washington Conference Center
5801 Smith Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21209 map and directions
Attendance and parking are free, but seating is limited. Reserve your space now: Please R.S.V.P. by email (preferred) to PituitaryDay@jhmi.edu or by calling 410-670-7259.
Agenda
9:00 – 9:25 a.m.: Registration
9:25 – 9:30 a.m.: Welcome and acknowledgments (Roberto Salvatori, M.D.)
9:30 – 10:00 a.m.: Symptoms of Pituitary Tumors: Acromegaly, Cushing, and Non-Functioning Masses (Roberto Salvatori, M.D.)
10:00 – 10:30 a.m.: Effects of Pituitary Tumors on Vision (Amanda Henderson, M.D.)
10:30 – 11:00 a.m.: A Patient’s Story (to be announced)
11:00 – 11:30 a.m.: The Nose: the Door to Access the Pituitary Gland (Murray Ramanathan, M.D.)
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Surgery for Pituitary Tumors: Images from the Operating Room (Gary Gallia, M.D., Ph.D.)
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.: Radiation Therapy for Cushing, Acromegaly and Non-Functioning Tumors: When Needed, A Good Option (Kristin Redmond, M.D.)
Myth: “It is MY fault that I got Cushing’s. I did something wrong that caused me to be sick! If I would have just done XYZ, this would not be happening to me!”
Fact: This is a very controversial topic because we don’t like to talk about it. However, many people struggle with this myth. We NEED to dispel this myth my friends! Patients themselves assume responsibility, accountability, and self blame for becoming ill.
To compound all of that, patients are often told by loved ones, family, and sometimes even their churches or other supports that there is something that THEY could be doing or haven’t done that has caused their declining health. “If you would just follow that raw food diet, then all of your symptoms would go away”, “Juicing is the answer! I told you to juice and you wouldn’t get those tumors!”, Sometimes, you are told that if you would just pray harder or have greater faith, then there is no way that you would be sick right now. And my absolute favorite, “you are just too obsessed with being sick and having Cushing’s! Stop thinking that you have it and it will go away!”.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I find value in “positive thinking” and affirming health, wealth, and all kinds of great things. This helps build up strength and personally keeps me motivated, especially during the times that I feel like absolutely throwing in the towel and giving up!
However, I am NOT the reason and YOU are not the reason for this war with this dreadful disease. What many people don’t understand is how tenacious, brave, courageous, and INDOMITABLE you are! Cushing’s patients do not just get surgery and then everything is magically OK.
Many patients have to go through multiple surgeries, sometimes radiation, sometimes years of testing to find the ultimate source of the disease, even after having several organs messed with. Even after patients obtain their “cure”, they are faced with residual and lingering negative effects of the illness, other hormone dysregulation issues, and the anxiety and fear of a recurrence which is based in absolute reality.
There are people, like myself, who are in remission from Cushing’s, BUT we now have Addison’s Disease/Adrenal Insufficiency as a result of removing vital organs in order to save our lives from Cushing’s. So, are we to think that Adrenal Insufficiency is ALSO our faults every time we near death after an adrenal crisis?! NO! NO! NO!
This is NOT your fault! This is NOT your doing! STOP blaming yourself! The best you can do is to FIGHT! Take an empowered stance by saying “NO” to those who won’t listen. Say “NO” to those who project blame onto you and tell you that this is just a “fat person’s excuse to stay fat”. You are not just a “fat person”! YOU are an amazing person who is fighting for your life!
Let me be clear that this blaming is common and we all do it. In my “5 stages of Loss” series on Youtube; I address the “Bargaining” stage of loss, in which we assume responsibility for getting sick or even for getting better.
Everyone should watch this to understand why and how we do this:
Remember, you are a survivor! YOU are Indomitable!!! This is NOT your fault! You WILL overcome!
Myth: “It is MY fault that I got Cushing’s. I did something wrong that caused me to be sick! If I would have just done XYZ, this would not be happening to me!”
Fact: This is a very controversial topic because we don’t like to talk about it. However, many people struggle with this myth. We NEED to dispel this myth my friends! Patients themselves assume responsibility, accountability, and self blame for becoming ill.
To compound all of that, patients are often told by loved ones, family, and sometimes even their churches or other supports that there is something that THEY could be doing or haven’t done that has caused their declining health. “If you would just follow that raw food diet, then all of your symptoms would go away”, “Juicing is the answer! I told you to juice and you wouldn’t get those tumors!”, Sometimes, you are told that if you would just pray harder or have greater faith, then there is no way that you would be sick right now. And my absolute favorite, “you are just too obsessed with being sick and having Cushing’s! Stop thinking that you have it and it will go away!”.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I find value in “positive thinking” and affirming health, wealth, and all kinds of great things. This helps build up strength and personally keeps me motivated, especially during the times that I feel like absolutely throwing in the towel and giving up!
However, I am NOT the reason and YOU are not the reason for this war with this dreadful disease. What many people don’t understand is how tenacious, brave, courageous, and INDOMITABLE you are! Cushing’s patients do not just get surgery and then everything is magically OK.
Many patients have to go through multiple surgeries, sometimes radiation, sometimes years of testing to find the ultimate source of the disease, even after having several organs messed with. Even after patients obtain their “cure”, they are faced with residual and lingering negative effects of the illness, other hormone dysregulation issues, and the anxiety and fear of a recurrence which is based in absolute reality.
There are people, like myself, who are in remission from Cushing’s, BUT we now have Addison’s Disease/Adrenal Insufficiency as a result of removing vital organs in order to save our lives from Cushing’s. So, are we to think that Adrenal Insufficiency is ALSO our faults every time we near death after an adrenal crisis?! NO! NO! NO!
This is NOT your fault! This is NOT your doing! STOP blaming yourself! The best you can do is to FIGHT! Take an empowered stance by saying “NO” to those who won’t listen. Say “NO” to those who project blame onto you and tell you that this is just a “fat person’s excuse to stay fat”. You are not just a “fat person”! YOU are an amazing person who is fighting for your life!
Let me be clear that this blaming is common and we all do it. In my “5 stages of Loss” series on Youtube; I address the “Bargaining” stage of loss, in which we assume responsibility for getting sick or even for getting better.
Everyone should watch this to understand why and how we do this:
Remember, you are a survivor! YOU are Indomitable!!! This is NOT your fault! You WILL overcome!
